Archive for March 2013

Typically in fantasy hockey, trade deadlines don't generate much activity. That wasn't the case this season in the WCHL.

In the four days leading up to the deadline, including deadline day, 34 deals were announced by the league, with 11 on that final day of swapping players and picks.

"It was easily one of the busier weeks leading up the trade deadline," said Commissioner Trent Allen. "Plenty of big names moved around and several teams took the opportunity to either add for playoff push or get ready for the future."

Several teams completed multiple deals, and several players moved more than once, including Ryan Kesler and Kyle Okposo.

"It feels like I was in a tornado," said Ryan Kesler who ended up in Dallas after passing through Vancouver and Toronto earlier in the week. Kesler actually started the season in Montreal with the Canadians.

How Ryan Kesler felt at the trade deadline.Allen did confirm a few teams just missed the deadline in posting their trades, meaning the activity could have been higher.

"I know even for myself I'd have had a few more deals - maybe three or four more- done if the deadline had run a little longer, but that's the way it works sometimes. I'd estimate eight to ten more deals could have been completed but time just ran out," said Allen. "It certainly leaves the impression that there could be more activity coming in the off-season."

The Toronto Maple Leafs were busy, adding forwards like Mikko Koivu and Derek Roy in an effort to bolster their offense and soldify a playoff berth for the first time in years.

"We wanted to get in there. It's been a long time since we got in. It sucks trying so hard to get in but getting denied every time," said Leafs GM Tony Bezdeck. "Sounds like I'm talking about Noel's (Harrison, Ottawa Senators GM) prom night more than our playoff history actually."

The Canucks were also active, picking up several players, including Ryan Clowe, Cody Hodgson, Shawn Matthias and Matt Cullen as they attempt to lock down a playoff berth of their own.

Cody Hodgson is way to excited about going back to Vancouver.

"It cost us a lot, but we are a better team now," said GM Steven Bruce. "I may have been bent over harder than Sharks GM Kurt Fulmore in a prison, but we are ready for the playoffs."

In the past, there were seasons where there was concern whether or not any Canadian teams would reach the playoffs. This year, six of the seven teams are in a playoff spot following the trade deadline, with only the Winnipeg Jets on the outside looking in. The Jets, with just 37 points this season, are 28 points out of the playoff picture and destined to be watching the other Canadian teams on the big screen.

Last years WCHL Cup finalists, the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames both had some activity. While the Rangers were limited to one minor league deal, the Flames rattled off two pro roster swaps, bringing in Kris Versteeg and Adrian Aucoin in the process.

Adrian Aucoin is pleased to be back with the Flames for a post-season run.

"We just couldn't do anything due to the fluctuations in our cap projections mixed with the impactivity of the minor league talent which has progressed and will be likely to develop enough to directly correlate with the pro roster within 19.67 days," said Rangers GM Andrew Don. "Combined with the toward daily trading value of the Chinese Yen, which was impacted by the news of moon rocks found on Venus, this resulted in a sloped scale of depression in Yao Ming that carried over to the Chinese Women's Hockey Team somehow. As well all know, theya re men with boobs anyways, so that impacted the real men's team, which in turn attacked the Slovak national squad in an intra-squad game that was being played in Mount Doom. Anze Kopitar once thought about dreaming about talking about joining the team for an exhibition game warm up skate, and this attack hurt his feelings, meaning we couldn't do any trades for fear of making Kopitar want to impale himself on a kitana, resulting in us being short a skilled forward. A lot of thought goes into every move we do."

Andrew Don has a pie chart for anything.

Whether any of these moves will bring a WCHL team the cup is hard to say, but considering almost every playoff team pulled the trigger on a trade at the deadline, expect someone to be hoisting a cup this spring who otherwise should have been watching on TV.